Keeping giant rabbits, chickens and other livestock for most who homestead or are looking to be more self-reliant means that the chickens and rabbits are a resource for food and fertilizer to name a few.

But like anyone, I think, we all understand that life is usually broader than our focus and we can’t put everything into a single bin.

I wanted to point that out because of all the good that the story below tells, we or at least I still will homestead and will still raise chickens, rabbits, bees and whatever else to be more independent. After all, no matter how you spin it, if you want to eat something you generally have to “process” it, whether it’s a carrot, a fish or a rabbit.

But the story below is a story of healing and restoration for those who could only find it in the company of a non-judgmental animal with a wonderful heritage and provides so much unselfishly to all who ask whether it is for a resource of food or more.

Flemish Giant to The Rescue

“The summer of June 2013 should have been the happiest time of Jenn Eckert’s life. After all, she was about a month and half away from getting married.

She had also recently adopted a new pet.

Just like your dog, these guys like to hang out and lounge around with you.

Little did Eckert know, however, that Betsy would be there for her just when she needed comfort the most.

That summer, Eckert’s mother passed away, just before the wedding.

“I was devastated. She was my best friend,” Eckert told The Dodo. “I just laid on the couch and cried for days. But every day, Betsy would hop up on the couch and lie next to me. I didn’t have her for long, but she knew I wasn’t in a good place at that point.”

Eckert soon came to realize that, if Betsy was able to help her get through the ordeal of losing her mother, the rabbit had the ability to help others in need of emotional support as well.

The difference between therapy and support animals like giant rabbits

That was when Eckert decided to make Betsy, who is now 3 years old, a therapy animal. The volunteer department of Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, where Eckert worked at the time, directed her to the Pet Partners volunteer therapy animal program, the largest nonprofit organization for registered therapy animals in the U.S., to help get Betsy certified, which can happen in as quickly as a month, according to Eckert. Therapy animals are known to provide numerous benefits, from decreasing mental stress to increasing positive social behaviors for autistic children.

Rabbits can be trained to interact with people.

Through Pet Partners, any pet is eligible to become a registered therapy animal, as long as the animal is one of nine species: dogs, horses, cats, rabbits, birds, llamas, alpacas, pigs and rats, according to Mandy Pleshaw, a marketing, public relations and social media coordinator at Pet Partners.

Last year, 112 giant rabbits were registered as therapy animals with Pet Partners, compared to 12,976 dogs, the most common therapy animals in the program.

Both pet and handler must go through a series of evaluations and training. A therapy animal, which is what Eckert was wanted for Betsy, is trained to interact with people on a less personal basis than support animals, who are trained to care for one specific person with special needs every day, according to Pleshaw. An example of the latter is a blind individual who owns a seeing eye dog.

On the other hand, it would be common for a therapy animal to visit hospitals and provide emotional comfort to terminally ill children in a ward.

Passing the evaluations

The first step to pet therapy registration was for Eckert to take an online pet handler’s course, where she would learn how to approach a patient, what to say to them and how to interact with them in various situations, while still ensuring Betsy’s safety, Eckert said. One can imagine how important the latter could be in certain situations — for example, if an animal had to engage with a group of children who might be loud or unpredictable.

Along the way, Eckert adopted a second Flemish giant from the Humane Society in December 2013 and named him Walter.

Now 2 years old, Walter had been abused prior to his arrival at Eckert’s home. At first, he was fearful of people, choosing instead to hide, said Eckert.

Rabbits are a lot like other pets once they are trained to interact with people

Slowly, he learned to trust people again and soon flourished into a social butterfly. “I [recently] had surgery and he would actually hop up and lay on my chest because he knew I was sick,” Eckert said.

That’s when she knew Walter was ready to become a therapy rabbit alongside Betsy.

Eckert helped prepare Walter for the life of a therapy rabbit by taking him outside on walks, allowing him to get used to encountering different people. Now, Walter loves hopping up to strangers and nudging their ankles for head pats.

After Eckert passed her online course, she had to get both of her rabbits medically cleared by a veterinarian. A therapy animal must be in good health, up to date on shots and tested to make sure he or she is free of any diseases that could be passed from animals to humans — for example, rabies.

The final step in the therapy pet certification process is a thorough in-person evaluation of both animal and handler. Eckert said it’s usually conducted by Pet Partners staff or personnel from another local organization deemed appropriate by Pet Partners.

During the evaluation, the animal and his or her handler is asked to respond to several real-life scenarios that might occur while on the job, in locations like a hospital or nursing home. Eckert’s evaluation covered everything from how her rabbits might react to rough petting to how they would respond to loud people, wheelchairs and dogs.

Each evaluation is tailored to the animal’s species, according to Pleshaw. Additionally, owners are expected to train their pets beforehand. For example, according to Pleshaw, handlers should ensure their pet understands basic obedience commands and can follow those commands perfectly upon evaluation time. Therapy animals also need to show that they’re comfortable with the demands of therapy work.

“If we do see fear in an animal, they’re simply not comfortable and that’s when we step in,” Pleshaw said. “These animals are doing such good work that we want to make sure the pet wants it as much as the handler.”

Plewshaw said what Pet Partners staff members look for, when evaluating rabbits in particular, are their temperaments. “We need to determine if they’re comfortable being handled by numerous people,” she said.

Once the animal passes this final exam, paperwork and registration follow, leading to the official registration of a pet with Pet Partners. From there, handlers are able to join animal therapy programs in their area or can even start their own service.

The future of therapy rabbits

One frustrating reality of Ecker’s volunteer work is the fact that she often has trouble taking her therapy rabbits into hospitals to visit patients.

Wisconsin laws dictate that hospitals in the state only allow for therapy cats and dogs to visit — but oddly enough, not rabbits.

“I visit the Ronald McDonald House here in Milwaukee, and there was a little girl who had [met] Betsy [there],” Eckert said. Eckert had posted photos of Betsy at the Ronald McDonald House on Facebook afterward and said the little girl’s mother had reached out to her, saying how upset her daughter was that she could no longer see Betsy because she was at the hospital, where Betsy was barred from entering.

“My thought is, if I can get the word out there about how great therapy rabbits are, more people would consider getting rabbits and having them certified,” she said. “It would become more common, hopefully allowing me to get into the doors of children’s hospitals.”

All of Eckert’s therapy work is strictly volunteer, but she said she feels incredibly grateful to do it.

“One of my first times going to the Ronald McDonald house, there was a little boy, he must have been 2,” she said.

“He had a feeding tube and his face just lit up when he saw Betsy. He started jumping up and down and clapping,” she said. “It was like, this is why I do this. That moment right there.” curated from thedodo.com”

Quite a Conundrum

To me it’s nice to see the good that comes from things like this and it makes me have much more respect for the animals that I raise. They will be food at some point but that does not mean that they should not be treated with respect and admiration. It’s quite a conundrum, one I’m sure people have had to work out since we as human beings have domesticated animals and used them as food and other resources.

It’s one of the hard facts of life as a homesteader, balancing out life and death along with doing what is right. Being self reliant is a skill I’m afraid has been lost in large part, so for me keeping animals, growing my own food in my garden, keeping bees etc., is more than a hobby.

I can’t help but think that along with all the other great societies throughout history our society at some point will come to an end. When it does, though I hope it never happens, having the skills necessary to not just survive but thrive will be more valuable than any amount of money.

A nice variety of heirloom tomatoes fresh from the garden is always a welcome site.

If you love to grow tomatoes but have been getting your seeds from the local store or online and would like to become more self-reliant, then you may be interested how you can collect your own heirloom tomato seeds. Collecting your own gives you control over what you are growing, which is good. But what I think is more important is over time it gives a catalog of seeds and variety to select from. I have found heirloom tomatoes I loved, lost the name and couldn’t find it again. Or if I did remember the name I simply couldn’t find it until sometime later. Collecting my own seeds, along with the greenhouse I built, has fixed that problem for me for good!

“Seed Self-Reliance

This year I grew Mortgage Lifter tomatoes, an heirloom variety known for its huge fruit and excellent taste. You’ve got to love the name! Unfortunately, the plants did not do well in my new garden plot and I only had a few tomatoes for fresh eating. Fortunately, I gave a few plants to my daughter and hers have gone wild. I’m going to save heirloom tomato seeds for next year so I can try again.

Seeds have a gelatinous coating on them that needs to be dealt with before you can actually save the seed. While there is a possibility that there will be volunteer plants from fruits left in the garden, I want to be sure that I have seed saved from the best fruit possible. That means I’m hand picking the healthiest tomatoes from her garden to use in my seed stock.

Fermenting the seed is the preferred way to do it and if you are going to trade seeds, it’s good etiquette. You don’t absolutely have to ferment the seeds, but it does have advantages.

It makes the seeds easier to separate from the gel
It helps sort out bad seeds
Fermenting reduces some seed-borne illnesses (source)
Tomatoes have a germination inhibitor, which is made inactive through the fermenting process

Here’s the process to save heirloom tomato seed

Cross cut the tomato to get access to the most seeds. Cut one or two of the best tomatoes in half (not end to end but around the middle) and squeeze out the seeds and gel into a small container. I used a canning jar.
2. Label the jar with the variety name.
3. Add 1/2 cup of water and swish it around.
4. Cover the jar with a cloth or paper towel to keep out fruit flies.
5. Set the container aside, out of the sun, for 3 to 5 days.
6. Expect it to get smelly as the fermenting takes place.
7. A moldy film may form on top. It’s nothing to worry about.
8. If you have a fermenting lid (Amazon) like mine use it as the cover and you won’t have to worry about the smell until you open it.

To separate the seeds

If you covered the jar with a paper towel, carefully remove the film that has grown on top of the seed and water. There will not be a film if you used a fermenting lid.

Put the seed through several clear water rinses to remove the pulp. Add more water to the jar and swish it around. The best seeds and those you want to keep will sink. If you are using a fresh tomato from the garden almost every seed will be viable.

Now, carefully pour off the water, floating seeds, and the bits of pulp suspended in the liquid. Repeat this process, adding more fresh water, until all the pulp is gone and you have clean seeds.

Drain them as well as you can and spread them in a single layer on a screen or a paper plate to dry. We don’t use paper towels at our house so I patted the seed dry with a muslin kitchen towel. You can use paper towels, but I’ve heard that the seeds tend to stick to them. Plastic or ceramic plates do not work well to dry your seeds. The tomato seeds need to have the water wicked away from them and that won’t happen with plastic or ceramic. If you’re saving more than one variety, be sure to label the plates.

Let the seeds dry for five to six days at room temperature in a well-ventilated place. You may want to stir the seeds with your fingers daily to break up any that are clumped together. This will help them dry quicker.

In just a few days the seed will be completely dry and ready to go into storage. Tomato seed has a very long shelf life and once dry it doesn’t need any special care. Place the dried seed in small manila envelopes or make these cute DIY seed packets found at Fine Gardening.

Now that you know the secret to saving heirloom tomato seeds, you’ll never have to purchase seed again. That’s seed self-reliance!” Article Curated from preparednessmama.com

The great thing about taking the time to collect your own seeds, whether they are tomato seeds or and other kind of seed is you can pass these on to your family and friends and teach them to do the same, if they care to learn something new. To me this skill is about relearning what must have once been a normal part of gardening a hundred years ago. I am all about learning something new and keeping traditions and methods my grandfather and maybe his grandfather used.

Chickens are a lot of fun and seeing a hen that has hatched her own chicks is a real treat!

What is the secret to raising chickens?You should make sure your chickens are fed good quality food and they always have fresh clean water to drink. The other important issue is to make sure your chickens are well guarded from predators. If you are raising a large flock with many hens and roosters at one time, add multiple feeders and water drinkers.

Chickens tend to pick at each other more when crowded, so allowing them to eat and drink without having to fight their way to their food and water, will reduce fighting and thereby reduce the chance for disease from open sores and wounds.

Protecting your birds from predators goes hand in hand with making sure that they have good quality shelter from the elements. That means keeping the rain and wind out and providing a place where they can keep themselves warm. You don’t have to put a furnace in the shelter as long as it allows your birds to make use of their own body heat.

If you live in the North you may want to put some insulation around their coop. A heat lamp, heated drinkers and some weather seal can make a huge difference as well in cold weather.

If you let your bird’s free range then the coop must not only protect them from the elements but be predator proof as well because when they are roosting in it at night is when they are the most vulnerable to predators, so you should prevent them from getting into the coop.

I have a “run” for my birds to keep them safe which is basically a fenced in yard that is covered with poultry netting to keep hawks and the like out and my coop is smack dab in the middle.

The “Secret” Summarized:

Good Quality Food and a Source of Fresh, Clean Water.

Adequate Space – A good Rule of Thumb is to have no less the 5 sq. ft. per adult Chicken.

Protection From Predators

Protection from Themselves

Quality Shelter from the elements

The Right Breed for Your Environment

Keeping chickens is great fun and really something the whole family can participate in. You’ll discover that chickens have their own personalities together with a lot of breeds to choose from so you should have no trouble finding the kind of bird that fits your needs.

In addition, you need to keep in mind that chickens will need adequate space to use for nesting, and roosting. There are lots of kinds of chickens that you can purchase and it’s vital that when one purchases their chickens they get the correct kind of chicken for the environment you have available for them as well as what it is you are raising them for – such as eggs, meat, both or maybe just as a pet.

You wouldn’t want to put a large breed like a Plymouth or Jersey Giant in a coop made for Bantams for instance. It just wouldn’t be healthy or very respectful to your birds.

Build a High Quality Coop

Build a high quality coop like this one will make keeping chickens a much easier task.

Chicken Coops come in many unique styles, sizes and complexity with customizable options so that you can construct the coop that works for your needs. As soon as your chicken coop is built, paint it for a finishing touch and preserve it for years of use.

No matter how small your chicken coop is going to be, you’ll need to have a really good very clear and thorough plan drawn up whether you construct the chicken coop or buy a prefabricated coop. So while you get started building chicken coop and start going through different plans and designs, keep these points in mind that will help you choose the best option for your specific needs.

Why Do You Want Chickens?

We’ve touched on this a little already, but it’s important to know what you are keeping chickens for to make it worth your while. Are you raising them for meat, eggs, to sell or do you have something bigger in mind?

Think about the rules of your state in regards to raising chickens, particularly if you are considering starting such a business at your residence. It’s not unusual for most people to start a business at home, even giants like amazon were started in their garage.

So if you have a hatchery you want to scale up or maybe you are thinking of selling eggs in high volume, know that there are laws that are made to help small businesses grow, but you need to know what they are and you really need to make sure you follow them.

Nobody wants to put a lot of work and money into something only to be shut down on a technicality. I know I don’t!

Something You Should Know About Keeping Chickens for Eggs

Feeding your chickens’ quality food is important and this especially true for laying hens but something I think that gets overlooked a little is supplements that your hens will need is calcium. You have to make sure that your hens receive a decent calcium supplement because chickens which do not get enough calcium can get very sick and could die. Crushed oyster shells are a great way to provide your birds with an excellent source of calcium.

You also want to feed all of your birds hens and roosters alike grit or make sure it is available to them and they will eat what they need. Grit helps your birds digest their food, especially if you are feeding them whole grains.

The chicken feed you purchase, it’s mixed to certain ratios to meet specific needs. Chicken feed, like most feeds, has to be kept dry or it is going to spoil. There are essentially 3 different forms of chicken feed you can give to your chickens that are specially intended for their distinct stages in living: chicks, adolescence and adult.

Incubating & Hatching Chicken Eggs

Hatching your own chickens is a lot of fun and quite rewarding! You can buy fertile eggs for a variety of chickens from a hatchery or collect your own from your own flock. If you plan to collect your own eggs to hatch then of course you will need a rooster so they are fertile.

If you want to keep the varieties you have pure, then you will need to keep the various breeds you may have segregated. Keeping your rooster separate from the hens except for when you want fertile eggs is not a bad idea either, otherwise the rooster will peck the hens and can cause some issues with the hens health.

If you only have a single breed, then that makes it pretty straight forward as far as keeping your breed pure.

Incubating eggs can be very simple when you understand what you do. To hatch your eggs you will most likely need an incubator, though some breeds of chicken will set and hatch their eggs under the right conditions. Modern incubators can basically do it all, turn the eggs, maintain the proper humidity and temperature and control air flow and do it all quite precisely.

If you have just a basic incubator then you will be responsible for turning the eggs, temperature etc. Turning the eggs isn’t a specific science, but it is crucial for good outcomes. Once in the incubator, eggs have to be turned three or more times per day by hand if a turner isn’t used.

If for some reason the eggs are allowed to cool for a number of hours because of power failure or another reason, hatching time could possibly be delayed. Without interruption at 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit eggs will take about 21 days to hatch under the right conditions. A one degree shift whether higher or lower for just a few hours can terminate the embryo. Humidity levels also help the eggs to hatch on time by maintaining 50 to 55 percent humidity, increasing to about 65 percent during the last 3 days of incubation.

How Many Chickens Do You Want to Hatch?

A great site for anyone who is hatching chickens!

If you are raising chickens and collecting your own eggs and you want to hatch 100 chickens and you are getting 8 eggs a day, how would you get 100 eggs to hatch? Pretty easy actually because chicken eggs can be stored until you are ready to incubate them. It’s recommended that eggs are stored for incubating between 50-60F turning them a few times a day to keep the yoke from sticking to the shell.

Hatching eggs by hand is totally doable and you will have some success. If you are hatching eggs as a hobby or are doing it with your kids to teach them, then there’s no need to lay out a lot of cash for a high tech modern incubator.

If you have grander aspirations and are going to be relying on a high hatch rate as a part of a business plan, then I wouldn’t hesitate in getting a high quality incubator.

These incubators are made to hold in heat and humidity, as well as the digital ability to enable you to understand how warm and humid it’s inside the incubator at all times. A top quality incubator will have the ability to manage these exact crucial settings electronically and economically.

Some of The Other Benefits Chickens Provide

Children are a natural when it comes to having a flock of chickens.

Besides for meat, eggs and unlimited entertainment they are an excellent provider of organic fertilizers as well. If you let them free range they’ll do a good job of lower the bug population and will aerate your soil in your garden and flower beds. Though you may want consider allowing your birds to aerate your gardens because they may also eat your plants, which isn’t a desired outcome at my house!

Chickens are very sociable animals and have to be held in numbers of two or greater. They are not terribly picky eaters. In fact, it is rather simple to feed chickens. Chickens aren’t vegetarians at all! Not only will they eat insects but also smaller rodents and perhaps even little snakes. They are relatively low maintenance inexpensive and easy to care for.

How to Keep Chickens Healthy

Having chickens whether it is for eggs, meat to sell or simply to keep as pets you want your birds to stay healthy, strong and be disease free, right? For chickens to be healthy and stay that way they’ll need some attention and some basic care each and every day. Below are a few basic and simple measures if taken each day will help to keep your chickens in good health and thriving!

Keep clean fresh water available at all times. This may mean a heat source to keep water from freezing in winter.

Chickens need to be provided with a quality feed that is made just for their specific needs. As an example, birds being raised for their meat will need a feed that is high in protein and hens that are kept as layers will need a feed that includes some additional calcium supplement. Feeding chickens table scraps is ok as a treat but as their staple diet it usually leads to deficiencies in their nutritional needs.

They will need a good quality shelter to keep them dry and safe from weather extremes and predators. Not only should it be dry and safe but just as importantly it should also be well ventilated to prevent respiratory problems and disease.

When you build their coop it needs to give each chicken enough space. If your poultry is crowded it will lead to stress and injuries from fighting which can cause disease to spread and even death. Chickens need a minimum of five square feet in the shelter and three square feet available to them in an outdoor run area.

Keeping chickens, ducks and turkeys is a very rewarding hobby, If you have any of them I know that I am not telling you anything new. Keeping chickens or any other poultry can be extra work and a time consumer if you don’t take the time to set yourself up. A chicken feeder, a heated drinker for winter or watering system for warm weather can make all the difference and make keeping your birds a lot simpler.

I have made my own feeders and drinkers in the past and they work, but there again is another time consuming activity that could be simplified with a well designed inexpensive feeder like the one you see above.

When I’m gone for the weekend I rely on higher capacity drinkers, and feeders like this one here, so I know my birds are being taken care of while I’m away. You can’t beat the convenience or time you’ll get back.

If you want to see how to build a similar no waste chicken feeder click this link and you can see one that appears to be home made, only trouble is there are no instructions, no how to video or anything. You may be able to figure out how it’s done just by looking at the picture, lord knows it isn’t difficult.

For the best results always use the freshest ingredients whenever possible.

Is there really a vegetable soup recipe that will help you lose weight? The biggest battle there is for losing weight is eating right. The biggest battle to eating right is finding food that is delicious, filling, goof for you without all the calories. Vegetables will always fill the bill in that regard, but not everyone likes vegetables, especially raw, and like anything if it’s the only thing you eat you will get tiered of eating it, so some creativity and flare to make the dishes different, palatable and not boring is what most people struggle to find.

This recipe of course isn’t going to solve that whole dilemma, but is is a step in the right direction! It’s really good, filling and is low in calories and high in fiber, so it’s definitely worth giving it a go.

Not Magic But Cuts Calories

This soup is delicious, healthy and filling! It’s easy to make and perfect for lunch or afternoon snack.

Of course this vegetable soup recipe isn’t the magic weight loss secret but if you’re trying to cut calories this is perfect to have in your fridge ready to enjoy! It’s loaded with flavor, fills your belly and is naturally low in calories and fat. When we are trying to cut back (usually in January after the holidays) we enjoy a small bowl of this soup before each meal. (And if you follow Weight Watchers, this is a 0 point soup… also know as a freebie) or I use it as a snack to tide me over until dinner.

This vegetable soup recipe is great because it can be made on the weekend to enjoy throughout the week and it freezes well. It’s very versatile and you can swap or add any veggie to make this to your liking or swap beef broth for chicken.

Weight Loss Vegetable Soup Recipe

Serves: 14 cups

Ingredients

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup diced carrots

4 cups chopped cabbage (approx. ¼ head of cabbage)

1 cup green beans (1″ pieces)

2 whole bell peppers, chopped

1 can (28 oz) low sodium diced tomatoes

6 cups low sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 bay leaves

½ teaspoon each thyme & basil

pepper to taste

2 cups broccoli florets

2 cups sliced zucchini

Instructions

In a large pot cook onion & garlic over medium heat until slightly softened.

This recipe is one of many examples of why I am so enthusiastic about growing vegetables every summer! It is a fun hobby and provides a means to an end which is healthier living and healthier eating. I hope you give this recipe a try and see how delicious it really is and then hopefully you might give vegetable gardening a try this summer, if you haven’t already.

Some beautiful heirloom tomatoes that will be yours for the picking when you have your own vegetable garden!

Vegetable gardening is one of the most rewarding hobbies there is, not just because of the satisfaction you get from accomplishing something but also from the fresh produce that is so healthy for you but also for the benefits of the activity itself. There was a twelve year study that showed people risk for heart attack was reduced by right around half from gardening or similar activities.

If you are going to start vegetable gardening, you want to start off on the right foot. Don’t let anybody fool you, gardening is work, so you don’t want to waste your time and effort for nothing. There of course is a learning curve so you will most likely have more success growing certain things after a few attempts than others where you’ll have success right a way. There are vegetable plants that are easier to grow than others.

Below are ten tips that will help you start and keep a successful vegetable garden!

“1. Observe
Before you begin gardening, you must observe the space you are about to use, perfectly. How big or small it is? Which way the wind blows and how windy it is? Is it on a slope or shady? Take a look at every aspect of the selected area neatly and consider how you can use it. How many hours of sun it gets? Which spots are the longest sunny? Where is partial shade? How you will water the garden? How you can use rainwater? What is the pH level of soil and other nutrients in it? How you can use the space more effectively and what is the average temperature and in which zone your area falls into
Jot down these questions and try to find out all the answers. Once you ferret out the details, the chances of your success as a gardener will increase.

2. Prepare your soil vegetable garden tips
Work on your soil. Healthy, organic and nutrient-rich soil is the basis of a stable and productive vegetable garden. This will enable the development of strong root system that is less prone to diseases and supply plants very valuable micro and macro elements and water. Being able to draw nutrients and water from the depths of soil, the plants will grow better above the ground become more productive.
The quickest way to get a few feet thick layer of fertile soil is to make raised beds. A raised bed should be rich in organic matter like aged manure, compost or vermicompost, and perlite or sand if soil is not well draining. Investing in the construction of raised bed also has economic advantages: its shape allows the cultivation of more plants in the same space. It is estimated that raised vegetable garden yields four times more than the standard flat bed.

3. Design and Planning
Notice how the plants deploy on a spot. Analyze their needs and try to plant the plants in a way that you can utilize every inch of space. Imagine the plants like a puzzle or building blocks and take a piece of paper and a pencil to draw the plan of your garden. Consider the practical issues like which plants will be planted where? How can you arrange them to make your garden more efficient and convenient?
Many plants, such as beans, peas, pumpkin like to writhe on the ground or climb on support. Providing them with support in the form of a trellis, nets or grilles increases the area of the garden as you can grow shady vegetables and other edible plants in the shade of them.

Vegetable gardening vertically is a really effective way if you have limited space. Or even to make the most out of whatever space you have.

4. Grow Vertical
Grow vertical, especially if you’re running out of space. Apart from saving space, there are many other benefits of vertical planting: less or no fungal diseases, improved air circulation means healthy and more productive plants, ease in harvesting.

5. Create a Favorable Environment
Search for the optimal combinations of plants. Try to maintain biodiversity. Grow the plants together that have similar growing requirements and are a companion to each other. To know more about companion planting, read this educative article of Cornell University.
If you are growing annuals be sure to do crop rotation or plan a new set of plants in the growing area for next season. Grow nitrogen fixing plants such as legumes and beans combined with flowers.
Remember the value of compost and vermicompost. Build your own compost bin. This way you’ll be able to get rid of your organic waste every day and become more self-sufficient and get natural fertilizer, compost also improves the texture of the soil. Use other sources like manure, coffee grounds and wood ash to enrich your soil.

6. Grow Local
Local and native plants that are traditionally grown in your region should be your first priority as they are easiest to grow and more productive, especially for beginners. Generally, such crops are also more resistant to pests and diseases and local weather conditions. Opposite to high maintenance exotic vegetables, local vegetables are undemanding and grows in a variety of soil types.

7. Mulching
A thick layer of mulch is also necessary for your garden to help retain moisture. Mulching provides warmth on cold days and chill in the hot. It protects roots from the harsh sun and gradually decaying lowest portion of mulch enriches the soil too.

8. Watering vegetable garden tips
Watering the right way can increase the yield of plant and avoid many pests and diseases. Generally, one-inch water per week including rainfall is sufficient for most vegetables. Although, it depends more on soil type, weather and plant.
Most efficient way of irrigating plants in the garden is by using soaker hoses and drip lines as they deliver the water right where it is needed and allows time for roots to absorb water. If in case you’re growing a container vegetable garden, read– How to water container plants.

9. Use of Pesticides
Pests and diseases are the most heartbreaking and common thing happen to any gardener. The easiest way to kill them is to use chemical pesticides and insecticides, but do you really want to use them?
Don’t use chemical pesticides until possible, they are harmful and also kill the beneficial insects and pollinators. Go organic, experiment with natural remedies to see what is effective. Turmeric, garlic, chilies, onion, insecticidal soaps, neem and horticulture oils are useful and repel the pests. Remember, you need to be patient and consistent with natural pesticides and at last, if you’re using chemical pesticides, use them when pollinators are inactive in the evening.
10. Don’t Overfertilize
Beginners often do this mistake. They believe the more fertilizer they will feed the better and healthier their plants will become. But overfertilization can burn the roots of your plants, it can imbalance the soil and even kill earthworms and other beneficial soil insects.
It is best to get your soil tested to find out which nutrients your soil needs and fulfill them accordingly. Also, mix as much compost and other organic matter as possible.” curated from balconygardenweb.com

All ten of these tips are important, no one tip is one that you’d want to skip, though you can find ways to make them your own. What I mean, for instance, tip 7 refers mulching which is really important for moisture and weed control. My personal preference for mulching is to not use mulch at all but instead I use 4 mil black plastic tarp, and for me it works perfectly. I use the same sheets every year until the finally breakdown from the sun after about 7 years. That may not be a good fit for you, but my point is you can be a little creative, which is part of the fun of having a vegetable garden!

A beautiful hen taking care of business (laying eggs) in her nesting box.

If you have ever wondered if you should raise poultry but came up with reason why you shouldn’t so you could find a way so you were not raising chickens then you really need to continue reading.

Having chickens can improve the lives of the poor, which lends itself to the old adage “give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a life time” which is what simply having chickens can do for those living in poverty.

I pray if you are reading this that you don’t fall into the category of poverty, but if you do or know someone who is living in poverty then chickens are a way to taking a step up.

“If you were living on $2 a day, what would you do to improve your life?

That’s a real question for the nearly 1 billion people living in extreme poverty today.

There’s no single right answer, of course, and poverty looks different in different places. But through my work with the foundation, I’ve met many people in poor countries who keep chickens, and I have learned a lot about the ins and outs of owning these birds. (As a city boy from Seattle, I had a lot to learn!)

It’s pretty clear to me that just about anyone who’s living in extreme poverty is better off if they have chickens.

In fact, if I were in their shoes, that’s what I would do—I would keep and breed chickens.

Here’s why:

They are easy and inexpensive to take care of. Many breeds can eat whatever they find on the ground which makes raising chickens even easier.(although it’s better if you can feed them, because they’ll grow faster).

Hens need some kind of shelter where they can nest, and as your flock grows, you might want some wood and wire to make a coop. Finally, chickens need a few vaccines. The one that prevents the deadly Newcastle disease costs less than 20 cents.

They’re a good investment. Suppose a new farmer starts with five hens. One of her neighbors owns a rooster to fertilize the hens’ eggs. After three months, she can have a flock of 40 chicks.

Eventually, with a sale price of $5 per chicken—which is typical in West Africa—she can earn more than $1,000 a year, versus the extreme-poverty line of about $700 a year.

Fresh chicken eggs are just one reward you get when you rear chickens!

They help keep children healthy. Malnutrition kills more than 3.1 million children a year.

Although eating more eggs—which are rich in protein and other nutrients—can help fight malnutrition, many farmers with small flocks find that it’s more economical to let the eggs hatch, sell the chicks, and use the money to buy nutritious food.

But if a farmer’s flock is big enough to give her extra eggs, or if she ends up with a few broken ones, she may decide to cook them for her family.

When I was growing up, chickens weren’t something you studied, they were something you made silly jokes about.

It has been eye-opening for me to learn what a difference raising chickens can make in the fight against poverty. It sounds funny, but I mean it when I say that I am excited about chickens.” Curated from www.gatesnotes.com

Reason Number Two – I’m Never Eating Anything From an Animal Known as a “Node”

Knowing that someday my food could all be from a genetically engineered “animal” makes raising chickens all the more appealing on several levels!

If eating GMO grains is a big no, no then why in the world would I want to eat genetically engineered food? But this is the type of thing that is coming at some point in the future, whether it becomes the sole source of food in some futuristic world is anybody’s guess.

We and when I say we I mean the United States have already began to take genetically engineered chickens from China, that is when it’s not rat, and who know what else.

If you really want to eat healthy and provide a way for your family now and in the future eat healthy, then it stands to reason that you should grow your own food, as much as you are able to anyhow.

“Goodbye chickens and cows! Scientists have developed a single animal capable of producing milk, eggs, meat, and grain.

Finally, a better way to produce food than farming!

Are we really replacing these with something called a foodnode?!? Lord I hope not!!

Using innovative genetic engineering technology, scientists from Virginia Tech have succeeded in merging all your favorite plants and animals together into a single creature, so pretty soon everything in your fridge will be produced inside one of the amazing new animals they’re calling a “foodnode.”

“We believe foodnodes can someday be used to replace current farming practices, which waste miles and miles of land on crops and livestock,” said Dr. David Hausler, a researcher from Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “Whether it’s beef, chicken meat, milk, grain, or the eggs that come from the foodnode’s udders, you can make everything a human would want to consume.”

I can’t imagine that a foodnode would taste better than chicken, but I suppose it is possible, but unlikely.

“Most recently, researchers produced a foodnode with pork membrane removable from the rear,” added Hausler. “This will revolutionize American farming as we know it.”

So, how long before foodnodes start replacing America’s farms for good? Well, scientists say current foodnodes have lifespans of approximately two minutes, but it’s only a matter of time before these gentle beasts change how America produces and consumes food!” Curated from www.clickhole.com

Reason Number Three – Chickens Deserve to Be Treated With Respect

If beating poverty or helping those who are impoverished and genetically engineered meat aren’t enough reason for you to raise your own chickens, then maybe this last reason is the one that will sway you.

The chickens you buy from the store are not treated very well and that should matter to you.

I’ve been raising chickens for a while now and yes I do eat them, but I would never treat them cruelly or raise anything that was a mutant and couldn’t stand under its own weight, that in and of itself is reason enough to raise “heirloom” chickens.

Heirloom chicken produce plenty of eggs, get large enough to produce plenty of meat and really are wonderful to have!

“Many people have no idea that the chickens bred to lay eggs are completely different from those consumed for meat.

Egg-laying hens are bred not only to produce an unnaturally large quantity of eggs, but also to be small so that many can fit into one cage.

By contrast, “meat chickens,” also known as “broilers,” are bred to grow so fast that their bones can’t even keep up, reaching market weight at just around 48 days!

So many big companies are making commitments to do away with eggs from caged hens. It’s time we started a conversation about the treatment of chickens who are bred and killed for meat.

Such wonderful creatures that provide so much to us, they certainly do deserve our respect!

Chickens bred to grow so large so quickly often become crippled under their own weight and suffer from cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks.

The unfortunate birds used to breed these meat chickens are restricted to one-third of what they would naturally eat to prevent them from reaching their growth potential and dropping dead.

Chickens account for more than 95 percent of the animals killed for food in the U.S. Nevertheless, not a single federal law, not even the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, protects these intelligent animals from abuse during their lives on factory farms.

Without legislation to protect these birds, it’s up to companies to implement impactful animal welfare standards, and up to consumers to do away with products that are the result of extreme animal suffering.” Curated from www.mercyforanimals.org

Beating poverty, eating non- genetic engineered food and preventing animals from suffering are all good reasons to raise your own chickens for fun, food and self-satisfaction!

Plus they make great “guard dogs” are quite self-sufficient if you have a little room for them to range in and they really do taste significantly better than anything you get from the store.

Beautiful sunset, but ominous not knowing if GMO’s are safe to eat? Europe sure doesn’t seem to think they are.

I cannot confess to know everything about GMO crops let alone answer the question are GMO crops safe to eat?

I wish I knew more since this is such a significant issue in the United States in particular.

I know that many other countries will not even accept grain exports from the U.S. due to our practices with genetically modified organism, which in many ways is no practice at all, since our government seems to feel there is no need to label anything and that it is perfectly safe to eat, according to them.

But are GMO crops safe to eat? I’m not convinced that our government can even answer that question completely.

On one hand if plants were modified with the purest of ambitions and were only made to be healthier, and I believe it could be done, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

I think at the start of the whole thing, when they first modified wheat, that really was the intent. We need to feed more people, therefore we need to make our wheat and corn yield more grain. Nothing evil about that, right?!?

On the other hand, however, as I understand it there were some unexpected results after our “base” wheat strain had been modified, but it was decided, even though the molecular protein chain was different and they had no idea how it could or would effect people, that they’d go ahead and let it into our food supply anyhow.

After all what they accomplished in a short period of time; short strong wheat stalks capable of holding up the heavier grain head of the higher yielding wheat would have taken years, maybe decades through conventional hybridization processes. Kind of makes you feel like a guinea pig, huh?!? It does me.

This is probably one of many public expressions in the United States of how the public feels about this issue, yet the U.S. government continues to stand their ground.

“Are you tired of GMOs working their way into so many of the foods you buy?

Do you ever wish you could just burn down all the GMO crops out there so they can stop compromising our food supply for good?

Some Hungarian officials did exactly that when they burned down 1,000 acres of maize in 2011.

The deputy state secretary of Hungary’s Ministry of Rural Development, Lajos Bognar, said at the time that the crops had been grown using genetically modified seeds.

Since these seeds are banned in the country, the government decided that the best option was to destroy the crops.

Bognar said that the maize had been plowed under, but its pollen had not spread. The farmers in question had mistakenly bought the seeds without realizing that they had been genetically modified.

Even though seed traders in the country are required to make sure their products do not contain GMOs, authorities say that they will continue to actively verify this. GMO seeds from Pioneer and Monsanto have been found mixed in with natural seeds, presumably accidentally.

Hungary has burned down thousands of these illegal GM crops over the years. Fire is the best way to get rid of these crops, as it destroys their artificial DNA and stops it from working its way into non-GMO plants.

Hungary has taken a strong stance against GMOs. In fact, the country’s Constitution says:

Hungary shall promote the effective application of the right referred to in Paragraph (1) by an agriculture free of genetically modified organisms, by ensuring access to healthy food and drinking water, by organising safety at work and healthcare provision, by supporting sports and regular physical exercise, as well as by ensuring the protection of the environment.

Contrast this with America, where GMOs are not illegal, and there are no serious labeling requirements.

Monsanto’s hold on the legal and political systems in our country is simply too strong, and they are not above discrediting scientists who reveal the dangers caused by their products.

Plenty of reasons to avoid Genetically Modified Organism’s

With kind of result, I’m inclined to believe GMO’s deserve another look before they continue to be put into our food supply.

Why would people in any of these countries want GMO food?

One only needs to look at the results of the famous study by Gilles-Eric Seralini in which rats who drank amounts of Roundup that are legally allowed in our water supply noted a 200 to 300 percent increase in large tumors.

In addition, those fed GM corn suffered severe damage to their organs, including their livers and kidneys.

This seems to answer the questions are GMO crops safe, yet the US continues to stand pat on not only allowing GMO’s in our crops and food but failing to identify foods with GMO’s in them so people could at least choose if they want to eat them or not.

When will America wake up?

Will our government ever adopt a similar stance to that of Hungary? This seems highly unlikely at the moment, so don’t expect to see GM crops throughout the nation being destroyed anytime soon.

However, you can grow your own GMO-free food in the meantime, and be sure to spread the word to all you know about the dangers of these foods.” Curated from http://www.naturalnews.com/055156_GMO_corn_fields_Monsanto_Hungary.html

When I read stuff like “….those fed GM corn suffered severe damage to their organs, including their

Looks tasty, but is it something that is not good for you? It would seem that it is not.

livers and kidneys. As many as half of the male rats and 70 percent of the female ones died prematurely after being fed Monsanto’s GM corn, NK603, which is found in many corn-based breakfast cereals, snack chips and tortillas.”

Diabetes, cancer, obesity, heart disease and any other of a number of diseases that are higher here in America than anywhere else and have our government tell us it is perfectly safe?!?

It is really frustrating and no wonder there are so many conspiracy theorist in the United States.
I am not a conspiracy theorist, but I totally understand those who are. Are our elected officials really that stupid that they can’t see this stuff is bad for us?

I think that there is loads of evidence and test results that clearly indicates we should not be eating genetically modified food with no evidence that it is actually good for you or even as good as unmodified food, yet they look the other way.

Why? As I understand it, the “food lobby” is one of, if not the largest lobbies in the country, so in a word: money!

Safe Food?

Is there any ‘safe food” to be had in the United States? Are GMO crops safe? Even with all the organic, GMO free efforts going on, is there any that haven’t been cross pollinated, even inadvertently, in America??

There nothing more rewarding the reaping the fruits of your labor! In this case it’s literal and figurative, learn how to grow blueberries and it can be a common scene at your table.

Blueberries have one of the greatest anti-oxidant contents of all foods.

If that isn’t reason enough to start growing your own, maybe if you read the article below and you’ll decide you can grow them after all.

I love blueberries and wanted to share some well-known and maybe some not so well-known information about blueberries.

A lot of people wonder how to grow blueberries, but not many take action and actually grow them.

They are such a wonderful tasting fruit that are easy to grow, are “cold” hardy, so they are perfect for Northern gardeners as well as Southern gardeners.

You can make jam, jelly, juice, wine, liqueur, muffins, cakes and the list goes on. I hope you find the information below useful and that you decide to grow your own blueberries

Planting & Root Care

Blueberries are normally selected and planted either in the autumn or early spring. You’ll want blueberry plants that are sturdy approximately 2 ½ years old and vary in size from 24” to 36” in height.

Blueberries are acid loving plants requiring the pH level to be between 4.09 and 5.0. with adequate drainage is important and are quite shallowly rooted much like azaleas, so you will only need to dig a hole no deeper that 12 inches in most cases.

A good thick mulch protects the plants root so they stay moist in dry periods, so water generously and add plenty of mulch. Since they’re shallow-rooted you have to mulch them to keep them from dehydrating.

Mulch helps maintain the soil moisture content consistently all around the plants. In addition to mulch a good level of moisture can be achieved with drip-irrigation as needed and pruned annually.

If you don’t prune it will cause your blueberry bush to require more moisture because it will be bigger.

Blueberry bushes are also equally decorative and produce edible fruit not to mention that they are lovely plants to make use of within landscape designs. They can even be trained into fountain-shaped bushes or smaller trees and shrubs.

Plants will spread as they grow if they are not pruned, so take care not to plant too many or place them too closely together if plan on just letting them grow natural.

Sun or Shade?

They will put up with partial shade, but the more shade they are exposed to can cause the plants to develop a lot fewer blossoms and much less berries.

If all you have is a shady spot to plant them in they will withstand partial shade, particularly later in the evening.

They will grow far more vigorously and produce a lot more berries in full sunlight. They are indigenous to Canada and America, and the berries can be harvested from the wild fairly easily and in fact have been for hundreds of years.

Blueberries Are Perennial Bushes With Options

They are a very easy to grow, it really is a wonder a lot more people never grow them! They are perennial bushes that grow by starting sporadically occurring shoots from the basal crown, which develop new lateral branches.

Blueberries are a fantastic fruit crop for residential gardens simply because they need little space and also are pretty resistant to insects and disease.

You can start to see fruit clusters like these in just a year or two of planting your blueberry bushes.

They can be gently covered just after berry harvesting to keep down the height of your plant.

They are somewhat self-pollinating, which means you will harvest increasingly larger sized and more blueberries by planting a couple of varieties.

They are pretty self-sufficient, however a little care and attention will go a long way in increasing overall performance.

They may be cultivated successfully in a home garden in states like Michigan, Florida and Georgia to name a few.

But really they will grow in nearly every state, as long as you can condition the soil and provide adequate water and sun.

Non-Traditional Locations

Blueberries aren’t exactly the most natural berry for Colorado, as a consequence of the alkaline soil there but how to grow blueberries is the same, no matter where you grow them.

They need acid soil, so if you live in an area like Colorado with alkaline soil and want to grow blueberries the dirt may be acidified by thoroughly blending a bit of granulated sulfur several months prior to planting.

Also it’s a good practice to fertilize your blueberry bushes two times in the course of the growing season, no matter where in the country you are growing them, with slow release Eco-friendly fertilizer 14-12-14 applied to the soil.

You will have to wait to add the sulfur if the soil becomes saturated with water, because you would be unable to till the soil. Taking the time to make the soil right is important because they are an acid loving plant like azaleas and rhododendrons.

Benefits & Disease Resistance

Planting blueberry bushes in full sun will make a huge difference in how quickly and how many blueberries you harvest.

They are not only beneficial to humans but as a result of their prolific berry producing capabilities they end up feeding a great deal of wildlife too!

They could possibly have something known as the blueberry shoestring virus, though they are resistant against unwanted pests and they are generally not known for getting any kind of diseases.

Worth The Effort

Blueberries are an attractive dark-blue color and the plant produces large crops. Fruit grows in clusters of five to eight berries that ripen in succession over a period of several weeks.

They are excellent when eaten fresh, frozen or processed into products like jams, jellies and yogurt. They are generally firm, giving a distinctive “crispness” when bitten.

Blueberries are tart but sweet and make up an excellent addition to cakes, deserts and stand-alone snacks. They may be eaten fresh or used to make pies, pastries, or juice.

There is an awful lot of things to like about the blueberry, wouldn’t you say? I hope you found the above article useful and I will be posting some of my favorite blueberry recipes as we go along. I hope you enjoy them too!!

]]>http://www.mygreenhobby.com/how-to-grow-blueberries/feed/0Vegetable Garden – So Now It’s Illegal To Have One?!?http://www.mygreenhobby.com/vegetable-garden-illegal/
http://www.mygreenhobby.com/vegetable-garden-illegal/#respondMon, 12 Sep 2016 18:16:11 +0000http://www.mygreenhobby.com/?p=494Could You Lose Your Right To Have a Vegetable Garden?

A nice specimen of kohlrabi in a raised bed garden. Raised bed gardening, in my opinion, is one of the easiest to integrate in a landscaping scheme,

With all that is wrong in the world and our own ever changing interpretation of our own laws and rights you wouldn’t think something as benign as having a vegetable garden would be so controversial.

If gardening can be outlawed, then I guess there are no limits to what the government can do?

I could see it if the property owners were growing illegal or banned plants or of there was a huge safety issue because of careless or dangerous gardening practices. In this case, however, it appears to be none of them.

If all it takes is someone’s opinion to determine that you have or do not have the right to grow a garden, then I hope no one is paying attention to how some people are dressing.

I mean if there were a judge who didn’t like the color blue or t-shirts, then who knows if that in the near future these items could be banned because of an opinion? Not a law, but a personal opinion. What happened to the right to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?!?

As impossible as this sounds, it is all to real. I can’t say it surprises me, but I am a little alarmed and very disappointed that this has been allowed.

Vegetable Garden Banned

This is a really beautiful garden that would make a home more attractive and valuable.

“Last week, a Miami-Dade judge became the focus of much-deserved anger when she ruled on an ordinance banning front yard vegetable gardens.

The village of Miami Shores, according to the ruling, has every right to take legal action against residents who dare to grow food in their own yards because they are “ugly.”

The ruling was a whopping ten pages long as it was filled with legal analysis and definitions of what constitutes a vegetable.

Even though she ruled in favor of the ban, Judge Monica Gordo acknowledged that she wasn’t quite sure how a vegetable garden can ruin the aesthetics of one’s property.

However, she stated that the democratically elected government has every right to dictate what constitutes an ugly front yard, and gardens are apparently a contributing factor.

“Given the high degree of deference that must be given to a democratically elected governmental body … Miami Shores’ ban on vegetable gardens outside of the backyard passes constitutional scrutiny,” Gordo wrote.

The court’s decision was based on a three-year long legal battle of Tom Carroll and Hermine Ricketts. They were facing a fine of $50 a day, not for robbing banks, or trafficking humans, or running some other criminal enterprise — but for growing their own food.

For 17 years, the couple grew their own food in their front yard until one day, the state came knocking.

No one was harmed by the couple’s garden, it was entirely organic, and in nearly two decades, not one of their neighbors ever complained. The only injured party in this ridiculous act was the state.

According to the tyrannical legislation, all homeowners are subject to the same absurd constraints. Their yards must be covered in grass — that is the law.

“There certainly is not a fundamental right to grow vegetables in your front yard,” Richard Sarafan, attorney for Miami Shores, said at the start of the case. “Aesthetics and uniformity are legitimate government purposes. Not every property can lawfully be used for every purpose.”

While Ricketts and Carroll are upset over the ruling, the do not plan on backing down anytime soon.

A beautiful apple tree in my front yard, which bears apples, and it is gardening, but I’d bet that no judge would rule against having this in your front yard, well not not yet anyhow….

“I am disappointed by today’s ruling,” Ricketts said in a statement to the Miami Herald.

“My garden not only provided us with food, but it was also beautiful and added character to the community. I look forward to continuing this fight and ultimately winning so I can once again use my property productively instead of being forced to have a useless lawn.”

According to the report in the Miami Herald:

The upscale village in Northeast Miami-Dade has long insisted it had every right to regulate the look of the community.

At a hearing in June, the village’s attorney said vegetable gardens are fine in Miami Shores, as long as they remain out of sight in the backyard.

“There is no vegetable ban in Miami Shores,” Sarafan told the judge. “It’s a farce. A ruse.” However, it’s not a farce. People cannot grow food in their front yards because the government thinks they are unsightly.

“They can petition the Village Council to change the ordinance. They can also support candidates for the Council who agree with their view that the ordinance should be repealed,” Gordo wrote.

However, that is what this couple has been doing for years. Changing the system from within has had zero effect.

The irony here is that had Carroll and Ricketts been growing their garden in the backyard, spraying gallons of glyphosate and permethrin into the air, the city would have been entirely fine with it.

Only when this innocent couple dares to grow food in their front yard, violating the “aesthetics and uniformity” of their control freak government, do they ever hear a word.

“If Hermine and Tom wanted to grow fruit or flowers or display pink flamingos, Miami Shores would have been completely fine with it,” said their lawyer, Ari Bargil with the Institute of Justice.

“They should be equally free to grow food for their own consumption, which they did for 17 years before the village forced them to uproot the very source of their sustenance.”

In modern day America, growing your own food has now become a revolutionary act.” curated from http://thefreethoughtproject.com/judge-rules-govt-ban-vegetable-gardens/

Does the government really have the right to ban gardening or have they over reached the authority that we the people have entrusted them with?

I find this a little far reaching, don’t you? Isn’t the governments job to uphold the law, not make them up as they go?!?

I realize that there must be reasonable interpretation and enforcement, obviously. I mean if my definition of the pursuit of happiness was something that was harmful or potentially harmful to myself or others, then I am outside of the reasonable interpretation of the pursuit of happiness.

But I ask you, is there any way that growing a vegetable garden for food with no complaints about it should be banned? Or made illegal??